HHS Determination Concerning a Petition to Add Members to the 

Special Exposure Cohort
 

under the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000
 

Determination Concerning a Petition for Employees from 

Hooker Electrochemical Corporation 

Niagara Falls, New York
 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:
 

Hooker Electrochemical Corporation, Niagara Falls, New York 
 

I. Determination 

I, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), have determined 

that the employees defined in Section II of this report do not meet the statutory criteria for 

addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC), as authorized under the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), 42 U.S.C. § 7384q. 

____February 2, 2012__ _[Signature on file]_____________ 

Date Kathleen Sebelius 

II. Employee Class Definition 

All employees who worked in any location at the Hooker Electrochemical Corporation 

during the operational period from January 1, 1943 through December 31, 1948, and 

during the residual period from January 1, 1949 to December 31, 1976. 

III. Decision Criteria and Recommendations 

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384q, to designate a class for addition to the SEC, the Secretary 

must determine, upon recommendation of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker 

Health (Board), that 

(1) it is not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation dose that the class 

received; and 

(2) there is a reasonable likelihood that such radiation dose may have endangered the 

health of members of the class. 

The SEC final rule states in 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1) that it is feasible in two situations to 

estimate the radiation dose that the class received with sufficient accuracy. First, the rule 

states that radiation doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has 

established that it has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum radiation 

dose for every type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed that could have 

been incurred under plausible circumstances by any member of the class. Alternatively, 

radiation doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has established that it 

has access to sufficient information to estimate the radiation doses of members of the class 

more precisely than a maximum dose estimate. 

In a letter received by the Secretary on January 4, 2012, the Board, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 

7384q, agreed with the following NIOSH findings, effectively advising the Secretary that 

radiation dose can be reconstructed with sufficient accuracy for certain Hooker 

Electrochemical employees in accordance with provisions of EEOICPA and the SEC final 

rule. 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:
 

Hooker Electrochemical Corporation, Niagara Falls, New York 
IV. Determination Findings 

Feasibility of Estimating Radiation Doses with Sufficient Accuracy 

The Secretary established the feasibility determination for the class of employees covered 

by this report based upon the findings summarized below. 

• NIOSH determined principal sources of internal and external radiation exposure for 

members of the evaluated class were gamma and beta radiations associated with 

handling and working in proximity to uranium-bearing slag material (C-2 and C-2 

concentrate). 

• NIOSH found a significant amount of air sampling data relevant to the materials and 

processes used at the Hooker Electrochemical site. In addition, the method 

proposed for establishing a bounding dose for the operational periods in BattelleTBD-6001 Appendix AA has been compared to available air monitoring data from 

related sites and has been found to be bounding in each case (based on the 

assessment of the dose using the appropriate dose reconstruction approaches and 

methodologies). 

• NIOSH has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum internal 

radiation dose that could have been incurred from exposure to uranium-bearing slag 

during the operational period. NIOSH has a significant amount of air sampling data 

relevant to the materials and processes used at the Hooker Electrochemical site. In 

addition, the method proposed for establishing a bounding dose for the operational 

periods in Battelle-TBD-6001 Appendix AA has been compared to available air 

monitoring data from related sites and has been found to be bounding in each case 

(based on the assessment of the dose using the appropriate dose reconstruction 

approaches and methodologies). 

• NIOSH reviewed and assessed the available airborne radioactivity and source term 

data against the methodology provided in Battelle-TBD-6001 Appendix AA, and 

NIOSH believes that internal dose during both the operational and residual periods 

can be bounded using the methodology defined in Battelle-TBD-6001 Appendix AA. 

• There are no available data on contamination levels or source term quantities left at 

the Hooker Electrochemical facility after the cessation of operations. A bounding 

assessment of external photon and beta dose is presented in Battelle-TBD-6001 

Appendix AA, based on the assignment of dose from surface contamination present 

during scrap recovery operations, with no adjustment for cessation of processing 

activities. That is, the dose assigned is the same as would be from exposure to 

surface contamination at an operating scrap recovery facility. 

• NIOSH reviewed and assessed the available source term and external monitoring 

data against the methodology provided in Battelle-TBD-6001 Appendix AA. NIOSH 

determined that the calculated external dose assigned in Battelle-TBD-6001 

Appendix AA can be used to bound exposures at the Hooker Electrochemical site 

during the residual period. With the removal of the source material at the onset of 

the residual contamination period, the likely exposure scenario during the postHHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:
 

Hooker Electrochemical Corporation, Niagara Falls, New York 
 

operations period would be consistent with the scenario evaluated in Battelle-TBD6001 Appendix AA. 

• Although no specific information regarding occupational medical dose has been 

identified specific to Hooker Electrochemical Corporation, the dose associated with 

medical X-ray exams, if required as a condition of employment, can be assessed 

using the methodology defined in ORAUT-OTIB-0006. NIOSH believes that this 

methodology supports its ability to bound the occupational medical X-ray doses for 

the Hooker Electrochemical evaluated class. 

• NIOSH determined that the reconstruction of internal and external doses is feasible 

for the operational period from January 1, 1943 through December 31, 1948, and for 

the residual period from January 1, 1949 to December 31, 1976. 

• NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient Hooker Electrochemical 

Corporation information to either (1) estimate the maximum internal and external 

radiation dose for every type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed 

that could have been incurred under plausible circumstances by any member of the 

evaluated class; or (2) estimate the internal and external radiation doses to members 

of the evaluated class more precisely than a maximum dose estimate. 

• The Board concurred with the NIOSH findings. 

Health Endangerment 

Because the Secretary established that it is feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the 

radiation doses encountered by Hooker Electrochemical Corporation employees as 

specified in this class, a determination of health endangerment is not required. 

V. Effect of the Determination 

Members of the class of employees covered by this determination and their survivors 

continue to be eligible to submit claims for compensation under EEOICPA. As required for 

cancer claims covering other DOE and Atomic Weapons Employer employees (or Atomic 

Weapons Employees) not included in the SEC, qualified cancer claims under Part B of 

EEOICPA for members of this class will be adjudicated by the Department of Labor, in part 

on the basis of radiation dose reconstructions which will be conducted by NIOSH. 

VI. Administrative Review of Determination 

The determination provided in this report may be subject to an administrative review within 

HHS, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.18(a). On the basis of such a review, if the Secretary 

decides to designate the class of employees covered by this determination, in part or in 

whole, as an addition to the SEC, the Secretary would transmit a new report to Congress 

providing the designation and the criteria and findings on which the decision was based. 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:
 

Hooker Electrochemical Corporation, Niagara Falls, New York